Couple Returning from Watching Perseid Meteor Shower Injured in DUI Crash: Police

NOVATO, CA — A Marin couple suffered injuries — one of them critically — in a suspected DUI crash early Friday that occurred near Novato as they were driving home from watching the Perseid meteor shower, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision, which resulted in the arrest of 28-year-old Ashleigh Courtney of Novato, was reported at about 1:45 a.m. on Novato Boulevard, north of Stafford Lake, according to CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.

"Callers stated a black SUV had traveled off of the roadway and down into a ditch where it had collided with a number of trees," Barclay stated in a news release. "Good Samaritans who stopped to assist stated that the right front passenger appeared to have suffered major injuries."

Emergency personnel from the CHP, Marin County Sheriff's Office, Novato Fire and Marin County Fire responded to find a black 2003 BMW X5 off the roadway and down a steep embankment.

Courtney was able to remove herself from the vehicle without assistance, Barclay said, but her boyfriend,
30-year-old Juan Ascencio-Palacios of Novato, who was sitting in the right front seat, was pinned inside and needed to be cut out of the vehicle by fire personnel.

Palacios was transported to Marin General Hospital with major, life-threatening injuries, according to Barclay. Courtney was also taken to the hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.

All lanes of Novato Boulevard were blocked by emergency personnel until about 3:05 a.m., but Barclay said the impact to traffic was minimal because not many motorists were on the road at that time of the morning.

He said CHP's initial investigation of the crash revealed Courtney and Palacios were returning to Novato after watching the Perseid meteor shower in western Marin when Courtney allowed her car to drift off the roadway, resulting in the crash that caused the injuries as well as major damage to the vehicle.

"As officers spoke with Courtney about the collision they observed objective signs of intoxication and smelled the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath," Barclay said.

She was arrested and booked into Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony DUI causing injury.

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